Thursday, January 31, 2008

Eight Scenarios for Mega-Thrust Earthquakes in the Indian Ocean Underscore Urgent Need for "Tested & True" Tsunami Warning System

Costas Synolakis of the University of Southern California Tsunami Research Center and Emile Okal of Northwestern University have co-authored a study entitled "Far-Field Tsunami Hazard From Mega-Thrust Earthquakes in the Indian Ocean." The study offers up eight scenarios for Indian Ocean earthquakes and resultant tsunamis. Its release underscores the sad fact that the goverments of the world have not come to grips with the lessons of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. -- Richard Power

Among the paper's conclusions:- The impact in the mid-ocean Maldive Islands from all scenarios appears to be similar or less than what was observed in 2004 - however the low-lying structure of the islands makes them more difficult to evacuate than other risk sites..- The impact in Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands (Mauritius, Rodrigues and Reunion) and the Seychelles could be far greater than in 2004, particularly from earthquakes in Southern Sumatra and in South Java. Madagascar is found particularly vulnerable from South Sumatran tsunamis.- Africa suffered in excess of 300 deaths in 2004, 300 of them in Somalia. Its east coast is vulnerable from south Sumatran tsunamis and in particular, Somalia remains at high risk due to the focusing effect of the Maldives ridge. The Comoro islands located between Tanzania and Madagascar would probably be affected more severely than in 2004.- Large earthquakes in south Java would generate substantial levels of destruction in Northern Australia, despite the sparse level of development there.- The Strait of Malacca area appears more vulnerable than in 2004, from earthquakes in the North Andaman. Bali and Lombok and could be severely affected by large events in south Java. In fact Bali was affected by the 1994 tsunami, whose trigger was smaller than the ones envisioned here.- The Kerguelen Islands (49.5?S; 69.5?E), part of the French Southern and Antarctic Territories, are highly vulnerable. Other than the North Andaman scenarios, practically all other events affect the Kerguelens, where apparently the 2004 tsunami did not cause damage. The much larger offshore heights the simulations predict would put the scientific base there (60-100 persons) at risk.Many of these scenarios have never been examined before. ..."It is quite clear that a tested and true tsunami early warning system as now works in the Pacific by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center needs to be urgently implemented in the Indian Ocean," said Synolakis. "This system should include hundreds of pre-computed detailed scenarios of inundation for all Indian Ocean nations to facilitate emergency planning for evacuation should any of these scenarios materialize. Public education is a must and local people and visitors should be made aware of tsunami hazards, no matter how unlikely they may be, just us Hawaii and Oregon are already doing."Making (Accurate Predictions Of) Waves, Terra Daily, 1-29-08

Monday, January 28, 2008

"This mother's three children were burned alive." -- For More Compelling Photos from Mia Farrow's Journeys, click here.

The Beijing Olympics this summer were supposed to be China’s coming-out party, celebrating the end of nearly two centuries of weakness, poverty and humiliation.Instead, China’s leaders are tarnishing their own Olympiad by abetting genocide in Darfur and in effect undermining the U.N. military deployment there. The result is a growing international campaign to brand these “The Genocide Olympics.” Nicholas Kristof, N.Y. Times, 1-24-08

Darfur Crisis Update: Your Governments Just Can't Seem to Scrounge Up Enough Helicopters or Troops; But You Can Make a Difference, Take the Turn Off/Tune In Pledge!

By Richard Power

Here are two stories that highlight the inexcusable moral failure of the great nations concerning the genocide in Darfur:

The UN-African Union peacekeeping force proposed for Sudan's Darfur region will take most of 2008 to deploy fully, the UN's head of peacekeeping has said.Jean-Marie Guehenno said not enough troops had been contributed to the force. Only 9,000 of 26,000 planned troops have been deployed so far.It is the first time the UN has said there could be such a long delay.BBC, 1-18-08

Two prominent Senators today introduced a resolution urging the international community to provide the necessary resources for the Darfur peacekeeping force.The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Joseph Biden and ranking member Richard Lugar warned that any delay in assisting the force “will result in the continued loss of life and further degradation of humanitarian infrastructure in Darfur”.Sudan Tribune, 1-29-08

Of course, there is no excuse for the delay in deployment or the shortage of helicopters. None whatsoever.

Meanwhile, Dream for Darfur is calling for all of us to make a difference on the bottom line:

With the 2008 billion-dollar Olympic marketing blitz about to begin, now is the time to act. Olympic corporate sponsors have been silent about China’s financing of the Darfur genocide, even as the sponsors are spending billions to enhance China’s image as Olympic host.This is unacceptable. If sponsors continue to ignore China’s complicity in the Darfur genocide, we will ignore their ad blitz. We will TURN OFF their multi-million dollar marketing campaigns during the Games.Join us: Pledge to TURN OFF Olympic sponsors’ ads during the 2008 Games and TUNE IN to Darfur Live – the daily live broadcast with Mia Farrow from a Darfurian refugee camp.China can use its influence to bring security to Darfur.The Olympic sponsors can use their influence with China.The people can use their influence with the sponsors – some of the most recognizable brands in the world.Until the sponsors tune in to Darfur, the people will TURN OFF the sponsors.Dream for Darfur

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Antarctica’s massive coastal glaciers are quickly melting into the sea as the oceans around the continent grow warmer - and the pace of ice loss is speeding up. An international satellite network measuring the thickness of the glaciers as they shrink year by year has found that the glaciers have melted so rapidly during the past 10 years that the continent is losing almost as much ice as Greenland, according to researchers gathering the satellite data.San Francisco Chronicle, 1-26-08

Climate Crisis Update: From Coal-Sponsored Presidential Debates to Increased Deforestation of the Amazon, Hypocrisy Abounds in Both the North & the South

By Richard Power

Al Gore should be finishing out his second term in office now, or at least, barnstorming to an early and overwhelming victory in the 2008 nomination process after a seven year absence from electoral politics.

If he was finishing out his second term, the USA and its true allies in the world would be in much better geopolitical, economical, military and environmental circumstances. Indeed, even if Gore was just roaring back from political oblivion just about now, the USA and its true allies in the world would have a better than even shot at recovering from the disaster that has befallen us all since 2001.

But instead, and probably for the best, Al Gore chose the high road.

And instead of delivering stump speeches in Super Tuesday primary states, Gore is in Davos, articulating the challenges that are already upon us:

"In addition to changing the light bulbs, it is far more important to change the laws and to change the treaty obligations that nations have," Gore told delegates, in apparent reference to what he sees as the Bush administration's reluctance to initiate legislation on environmental control."Whoever is elected is going to have a different position and a better position. But let's be clear: whoever the leaders are, this issue is going to be dealt with responsibly and effectively only when there is a sufficient degree of urgency on the part of the people themselves."Al Gore in Davos, Reuters, 1-24-08

Meanwhile, those who vie to run in Gore's shadow recently participated in an acrimonious debate in South Carolina; much of what was said in that debate was disheartening, but none of it so disheartening as what was not said:

In Democratic presidential debate last night, CNN once again failed to ask any questions about global warming. Perhaps not surprisingly, last night’s debate was sponsored by the coal front group Americans for Balanced Energy Choices (ABEC). Watch an ad for the debate:ABEC also co-sponsored November’s CNN/YouTube debates in Nevada and Florida, at which no questions about global warming were asked.Think Progress, 1-22-08

Of course, a televised presidential debate sponsored by the coal industry, in which no questions are asked about climate change (i.e., the number one national security threat), should not be surprising:

The environmental damage caused to developing nations by the world's richest countries amounts to more than the entire third world debt of $1.8 trillion, according to the first systematic global analysis of the ecological damage imposed by rich countries.The study found that there are huge disparities in the ecological footprint inflicted by rich and poor countries on the rest of the world because of differences in consumption. The authors say that the west's high living standards are maintained in part through the huge unrecognised ecological debts it has built up with developing countries.Guardian, 1-21-08

But hypocrisy in regard to the climate crisis is not exclusive to the richest and most highly developed nations:

The destruction of the Brazil's Amazon rain forest increased drastically in recent months after a two-year "breather," the government reported Wednesday evening. The monthly destruction rate surged from 234 square kilometres in August to 948 sq kilometres in December."We have never before detected such a high deforestation rate at this time of year," Gilberto Camara, the head of the National Institute for Space Research, which provides satellite imaging of the area, told a news conference in the capital Brasilia.The five-month spike in destruction of the forest - known as "the lungs of the world" for its ability to consume greenhouse gases and produce oxygen - is four times as much as in the same period of 2004.DPA, 1-24-08

Indeed, as Walden Bello of the University of the Philippines explains, the real divide is not between the nations of the North and the South but between the elites of both the North and the South and their own populaces.

Here are some excerpts from Bello's analysis, with a link to the full text:

... the environmental costs of rapid industrialization are of major concern to significant sectors of the population of developing countries. ... It is the national elites that spout the ultra-Third Worldist line that the South has yet to fulfill its quota of polluting the world while the North has exceeded its quota. They insist on an exemption for the big rapidly industrializing countries from mandatory limits on the emission of greenhouse gases under a new Kyoto Protocol. When the Bush administration refuses to ratify the Kyoto Protocol because it does not bind China and India, and the Chinese and Indian governments say they will not tolerate curbs on their greenhouse gas emissions because the United States has not ratified Kyoto, they are in fact playing out an unholy alliance to allow their economic elites to continue to evade their environmental responsibilities and free-ride on the rest of the world.This alliance has now become formalized in the so-called “Asia Pacific Partnership” created last year by China, India, Japan, Korea, and the United States as a rival to the UN-negotiated Kyoto Protocol. Having recently recruited Canada, which is now led by Bush clone Stephen Harper, this grouping seeks voluntary, as opposed mandatory, curbs on greenhouse gas emissions. This dangerous band of renegade states simply wants to spew carbon as they damn well please, which is what voluntary targets are all about. They are the core of the Major Economies Meeting slated later this month in Honolulu that many fear is designed to derail the recently agreed “Bali Roadmap.” ...As in North, the environmental movements in the South have seen their ebbs and flows. As with all social movements, it takes a particular conjunction of circumstances to bring an environmental movement to life after being quiescent for some time or to transform diverse local struggles into one nationwide movement. The challenge facing activists in the global North and the global South is to bring about those circumstances that will trigger the formation of a global mass movement that will decisively confront the most crucial challenge of our times. Walden Bello, Foreign Policy in Focus, Share The World's Resources, 1-18-08

Want to join hundreds of thousands of people on the Stop Global Warming Virtual March, and become part of the movement to demand our leaders freeze and reduce carbon dioxide emissions now? Click here.

Center for American Progress Action Fund's Mic Check Radio has released a witty and compelling compilation on the Top 100 Effects of Global Warming, organized into sections like "Global Warming Wrecks All the Fun" (e.g., "Goodbye to Pinot Noir," "Goodbye to Baseball," "Goodbye to Salmon Dinners," "Goodbye to Ski Vacations," etc.), "Global Warming Kills the Animals" (e.g., "Death March of the Penguins," "Dying Grey Whales," "Farwell to Frogs," etc.) and yes, "Global Warming Threatens Our National Security" (e.g., "Famine," "Drought," "Large-Scale Migrations," "The World's Checkbook," etc.) I urge you to utilize Top 100 Effects of Global Warming in your dialogues with friends, family and colleagues.

Musharraf is Not Serious About Investigating Benazir Bhutto's Murder; But that Should Not Surprise You, He was Not Serious About Keeping Her Alive

By Richard Power

There is damning evidence refuting the claim that Pervez Musharraf is a "strong ally" in the "war on terror," and it is growing all the time:

We are approaching the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and yet, the mass murderers Bin Laden and Zawahiri have *apparently* eluded capture and avoided death -- on Musharraf's watch (and under his nose).

In 2004, the big daddy of Pakistan's nuclear bomb, A.Q. Khan, confessed to selling nuclear weapons secrets to Iran, North Korea and Libya, and yet he was pardoned and lives in luxury under house arrest -- yes, on Musharraf's watch.

And, of course, in recent weeks, Benazir Bhutto, Musharraf's leading political rival, was assassinated -- yes, on his watch.

Furthermore, the hit went down on the very day she was going to provide US officials with evidence of a plot to fix the upcoming election, yes, again, -- on Musharraf's watch.

And now Human Rights Watch is calling on Scotland Yard not to lend its credibility to Musharraf's faux investigation into the killing of Bhutto.

So just to re-cap -- two mass murderers and a nuclear weapons merchant alive and well, an investigative journalist and a democratic opposition leader silenced by killers, plus the official inquiry into the assassination of a national hero compromised from its very inception.

Musharraf is someone's "strong ally," but he is not ours.

Here is the text of Human Right Watch's press release:

The UK’s Scotland Yard should not be part of a flawed Pakistani investigation into the assassination of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch urged Pakistan to seek an independent international investigation of the murder, such as under United Nations auspices.

Human Rights Watch said that the Pakistani government has a well-documented record of failing to conduct impartial investigations of human rights abuses, including political killings.

On January 4, the UK’s New Scotland Yard’s Counter Terrorism Command dispatched a team of investigators to Pakistan at Islamabad’s request. The Scotland Yard team has a narrow mandate and will not conduct an independent inquiry. According to the terms of reference made public on January 11, the Scotland Yard team will “support” and “assist” Pakistani authorities in investigating the “precise cause” of Bhutto’s death. The team “will assist and report to” Pakistan’s senior investigators and “the primacy and responsibility for the investigation remains with the Pakistan authorities.”“Pakistan’s investigation into Bhutto’s murder lacks independence, transparency and credibility,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Scotland Yard should never have agreed to only investigate the cause of death, instead of who was responsible. It should not tarnish its reputation by lending its imprimatur to this dubious inquiry.”

The Pakistani government’s findings are unlikely to gain acceptance in Pakistan. Many Pakistanis accuse the government and the military’s feared intelligence agencies of complicity in the assassination of Bhutto on December 27. President Pervez Musharraf has rejected these allegations and blamed militants acting on behalf of al Qaeda for the killing.

The Pakistani government’s actions in the immediate aftermath of Bhutto’s assassination served to heighten suspicions of a cover-up. Officials had the assassination site hosed down within hours despite protests from observers. And the government denied Bhutto had even been shot until video footage was aired by Pakistani and international media showing otherwise.

Prior to her death, Bhutto had repeatedly accused elements within Pakistan’s government and the military’s intelligence agencies of plotting to kill her.Human Rights Watch called upon the United States, the United Kingdom, and other concerned governments to urge Pakistan to accept an independent international inquiry, such as one led by the United Nations, to best ensure that those responsible for the killing are found, no matter where the evidence leads.

“Given Pakistan’s dismal record at investigations, the need for an independent international inquiry to uncover Bhutto’s killers is obvious,” said Adams. “Anything less would only increase political tension and instability in Pakistan.”

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

William Pfaff: "A coup d’etat has taken place ... not as an act of law defiance, but by faithful execution of their duty as required by law."

Here is an excerpt from an important and provocative piece written by the distinguished William Pfaff, whose column has appeared in the International Herald Tribune for many years.

In it, Pfaff articulates a theme that Words of Power has explored over the past several years, i.e., the widespread revolt of professionals within the US military, intelligence, law enforcement and diplomatic communities. (See "Some Related Posts" below for context.)

It is widely felt that what amounts to a coup d’etat has taken place in the United States, removing George Bush, without his even recognizing this (or at least admitting that it has occurred) from control over the principal issues of war and peace.This coup has taken the form of what amounts to a mutiny of the professional foreign policy services of the U.S. government, acquiesced in by the new Secretary of Defense, the service chiefs, and Director of Central Intelligence Bush has himself appointed.It was specifically carried out by the 16 recognized intelligence services in the American government, not as an act of law defiance, but by faithful execution of their duty as required by law, which is to form a common judgement, free from partisan pressure or interest, on matters vital to the nation.The National Intelligence Estimate made known December 3, after an elaborate civilian and military interagency consultation, carefully walled off from interference by the politically partisan figures in the Bush administration, was presented as a fait accompli to the White House, the press and the nation as a whole. Its finding was that the claims made by the White House and others that Iran was actively developing nuclear weapons were untrue, contradicted by the consensus judgement of all the American government’s intelligence agencies.Implicit in this was a threat. This threat was that the main military service chiefs and their Department of Defense superiors would not act on a presidential order to attack Iran. This decision would not take the form of direct and insubordinate refusal of orders. It would be a refusal by the military and their chiefs to act on such an order until Congress had been informed and consulted, and had performed its constitutional duty to give formal legislative consent to acts of war.The pathetic and pusillanimous refusal of recent American Congresses – and we are not simply speaking about the Congress now in office, but of practically every Congress since the beginning of the cold war – to fulfill their constitutiuonal responsibilities with respect to the declaration and financing of wars, has now generated its own rebuke from within the executive branch of government. ...I am perhaps taking a romantic and unjustified view of what has happened. I hope not. I believe that only grave malfeasance in government and unconstitutional conduct justify an executive ‘coup d’etat’ – however ‘postmodern’ the form that it assumes, and however elevated its motives. However I would suggest that the present election campaign demonstrates that powerful forces in the Washington political and foreign policy communities, reinforced by financial and industrial interests, are committed to suppressing all challenge to policies that already have altered the political character of the United States. The American form of government itself needs to be defended.William Pfaff, The Coup d'Etat against Bush, International Herald Tribune, 1-18-08

Sunday, January 20, 2008

In the Quiet Land, no one can tell if there's someone who's listening for secrets they can sell.The informers are paid in the blood of the land and no one dares speak what the tyrants won't stand.In the quiet land of Burma, no one laughs and no one thinks out loud.In the quiet land of Burma, you can hear it in the silence of the crowdIn the Quiet Land, no one can say when the soldiers are coming to carry them away.The Chinese want a road; the French want the oil; the Thais take the timber; and SLORC takes the spoils...In the Quiet Land....In the Quiet Land, no one can hear what is silenced by murder and covered up with fear.But, despite what is forced, freedom's a sound that liars can't fake and no shouting can drown.Aung San Suu Kyi, In the Quiet Land

Burma Crisis Update: Talk is Cheap, Business as Usual; On Martin Luther King Day -- Remember Aung San Suu Kyi

By Richard Power

In September 2007, the Buddhist monks of Burma rose up against the thugocracy.

The world wrung its hands pathetically as the military conducted a brutal crack down.

In the months that have passed, there has been no significant push back on the Burmese regime.

Aung San Suu Kyi is still under house arrest.

The natural gas continues to flow. The forests continue to be felled. The gems continue to be mined.

The UN Security Council has criticized the "lack of progress," called for "more dialogue between Burma's military government and pro-democracy leaders, and "urged the ruling junta to allow another visit by UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari." (BBC, 1-18-08)

The EU is calling for UN mediator Ibrahim Gambari to return to Burma and make the release of Aung San Suu Kyi his number one priority. (Agence France Press, 1-18-08)

For his part, Gambari is calling on the Indian government to use its influence. NDTV, 8-20-08

But talk is cheap.

If the great nations wanted to do something meaningful, they would lean on their own corporations to stop doing business with this bestial regime.

Of course, the executives of those corporations could also have acted on their own by now. The blood of many monks and the misery of tens of millions of Burmese is on their hands, just as surely as it is on the hands of the Burmese generals.

Here are some excerpts from an NDTV interview with Gambari:, with a link to the full text:

The Special UN Envoy for Burma, Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, is scheduled to visit New Delhi later this month to have another round of discussion with (his) Indian (counterpart) leaders on how they can play an influential and meaningful role in meeting the Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon's goal of a peaceful, united, stable and democratic Burma, respectful to human rights.Gambari: We want India to do more because, as you know - it is public, they are not hiding - India is just in the process of signing a huge contract to build a port there (in Myanmar). What we are saying is that to the extent that gives India some leverage, we would like (India) to help on other front, to be able to send the right messages to the authorities to cooperate fully and make the process of engagement with them and Good Offices of the Secretary General to produce tangible results. So far, some progress has been made, but still a lot more needs to be done.NDTV: How much influence India has on Burma?Gambari: It is difficult to say. India is a big neighbor. So, clearly Myanmar should take into account India's views. There are also, insurgent groups who are fighting from Myanmar side of the border; fighting the Indian government. So I think there is some mutual - and of course India is interested in some of the resources of Myanmar oil and gas and others. The way we see it that it positions them to be helpful. It is also true that it modifies how far they can go, how far they are willing to go, but we think they have enough and sufficient influence to be helpful to us in what is our common objective of a peaceful, united, stable and democratic Myanmar respectful to human rights.This would be consistent with India's own being. It is a democratic country with true commitment to human rights. We also believe that a peaceful prosperous and democratic Myanmar would be even a better partner for India than what the situation is right now.NDTV: What further steps you would like India to take in the coming months?Gambari: I would really like to impress upon the authorities in Myanmar that it is in their interest as well as the interest of the neighboring countries, ASEAN and the international community that they engage seriously with the Good Offices Mission of the Secretary General and work with me to bring up tangible results from the engagement. That message has to be delivered, and if India offered to do so, it would be extremely helpful to us. ...NDTV: Do you think, China influences India's role in Burma?Gambari: I am told that one of the reasons in the past that Indian has not been as forthcoming as they could have been, was geo-political relationship between India and China. And there was fear that if they played too hard on the generals that would push them further in the hands of China. I do not know if that is correct analysis or not. But, what I know is that it is not in China's interest or India's interest or any neighboring country's interest or ASEAN's interest, certainly not in the interest of the people of Myanmar if the status quo continues. It is not sustainable.NDTV, 8-20-08

Friday, January 18, 2008

Mia Farrow leads a march in a torch relay in support of Darfur to the Chinese Embassy in Washington, in this Dec. 10, 2007 (Photo: Associated Press)

Darfur Crisis Update: Farrow & Clooney Act While the US Government Procrastinates & the Cambodian Government Hides

By Richard Power

George W. Bush made a point of shedding a photogenic tear over the holocaust during his visit to Israel earlier this month. In a Letter to the Editor of the Cincinnati Enquirer, Sarah Weiss, Executive Director of the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education put Bush's display in context:

When President Bush visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial, he shed tears and publicly acknowledged that America should have bombed Auschwitz in 1944, an act that would have saved many lives ("Bush moved to tears at Holocaust Memorial," Jan. 12).However, Bush has the power today to spare the people of Darfur of a similar fate in history.We must go beyond mourning and be compelled by the history of the past to take action today to end the current genocide in Darfur.To honor the victims of the Holocaust and past genocides, I urge you to write the White House and ask Bush to remember his commitment in Darfur.Cincinnati Enquirer, 1-18-08

Just yesterday, in the White House, Bush complained that "international efforts to address violence in Sudan's Darfur region were moving too slowly," and said that "the United State would push to accelerate the process." (Reuters, 1-18-08)

Well, perhaps the approaching end of his two terms in office will motivate him.

Meanwhile, Mia Farrow and George Clooney have done more for the people of Darfur than Bush has in the years he has occupied the Oval Office.

Yes, Mia Farrow and George Clooney have done more than the leader of the most powertful nation on Earth.

Here is the latest on their heroic efforts --

Cambodia has barred U.S. actress Mia Farrow and a group campaigning for an end to atrocities in Sudan's Darfur region from lighting a symbolic Olympic torch at a "Killing Fields" memorial site.Interior spokesman Khieu Sopheak said on Thursday police would "take measures" to prevent Dream for Darfur holding a ceremony this weekend at Tuol Sleng, the Phnom Penh school that became the Khmer Rouge's main torture and interrogation centre.Dream for Darfur has already held similar events in Chad, Rwanda, Armenia, Germany and Bosnia as part of a campaign to persuade China to push Khartoum into ending the violence in Darfur, where 200,000 people have been killed since unrest broke out in 2003. ... An estimated 1.7 million people died under Pol Pot's 1975-79 Beijing-backed regime, which emptied the cities in bid to turn the country into a peasant utopia. Victims were tortured and executed, or died from starvation, disease and overwork.China is a major supplier of military aid to Sudan and purchaser of its oil, giving Beijing the clout to push Khartoum to halt the violence in Darfur, critics say. Reuters, 1-17-08

UN chief Ban Ki-moon has picked Hollywood heart-throb George Clooney, a passionate advocate for an end to war and famine in Sudan's Darfur region, as the world body's latest Messenger of Peace, an official said Friday.The Oscar-winning US actor was recognized for his tireless efforts to focus public attention on key international political and social issues, said UN spokeswoman Michele Montas.Clooney joins eight other internationally renowned individuals chosen to campaign for the UN drive to improve the lives of billions of people around the world. ..."You have seen first-hand the pain experienced by the victims of war and made it your personal mission to help end violence and human suffering," Ban said as he lauded Clooney's "dedication to raising awareness and mobilizing action on Darfur.""I am deeply honored to receive this appointment," Clooney said. "I look forward to working with the United Nations in order to build public support for its critically important work in some of the most difficult, dangerous and dire places in the world."Agence France Press, 1-18-08

I encourage you to follow events in Darfur on Mia Farrow's site, it is the real-time journal of a humanitarian at work; the content is compelling, insightful and fiercely independent.

For a Words of Power Archive of posts on the Crisis in Darfur, click here.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Sojourner TruthThat man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well! And ain't I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman?Sojourner Truth, Ohio Women's Rights Convention, 1851

Human Rights Update: Most Basic Rights of Women Under Attack in Iran, the Congo & Even in Evo Morales' New Bolivia

By Richard Power

Whether you consider yourself a journalist, an analyst, an activist, a poet, a philosopher, all of the above or none of the above, the Blogosphere offers you the priceless gift of almost unlimited freedom of expression.

But with this freedom, of course, comes certain responsibilities; e.g., the responsibility to push beyond the obvious, i.e., to explore the paradoxical, the complex, the difficult and the confounding.

Here are three troubling stories deserving of greater (and more refined) attention than they have received, and I offer them to you here, threaded together with the translucent silk of caring.

First, there is this story regarding the current regime in Iran:

As nine women and two men in Iran wait to be stoned to death, Amnesty International today called on the Iranian authorities to abolish death by stoning and impose an immediate moratorium on this horrific practice, specifically designed to increase the suffering of the victims. ... Iran's Penal Code prescribes execution by stoning. It even dictates that the stones are large enough to cause pain, but not so large as to kill the victim immediately. ... The majority of those sentenced to death by stoning are women. Women suffer disproportionately from such punishment. One reason is that they are not treated equally before the law and courts, in clear violation of international fair trial standards. ... Discrimination against women in other aspects of their lives also leaves them more susceptible to conviction for adultery.Amnesty International, 1-15-07

There is no more vital foreign policy imperative than the effort to avert a unilateral, unnecessary military attack on Iran. As many diplomatic and military experts have warned, such an attack would be even more destructive to US interests and to regional stability than the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Nevertheless, we must not conveniently ignore the misogyny of the Iranian regime. Indeed, neo-con saber-rattling only strengthens the oppressive hand of the Iran's religious right. (Certainly, no one who understands the plight of women in Iraq today could delude themselves into thinking that such military action would make the lives of Iranian women better.)

Next, there is the story of the weilding of rape as a weapon of war and oppression in the Congo:

An epidemic of sexual violence is plaguing the eastern Congo. Women are being raped with impunity by all sides of a conflict involving a renegade general, rival militias and the Congolese army. "Sexual violence is being perpetrated by all armed groups," said Anneke Van Woudenberg, a researcher at Human Rights Watch. "It is clear that women are completely unprotected at the moment. No one can claim they are unaware that rape is being used as a weapon of war in eastern Congo.Justine Masika, with the Goma-based group Synergie des femmes pour les victimes des violences sexuelles, estimates there have been 14,000 rapes in North Kivu province since 2004, with around 1,400 in the last six months alone. Some of the victims helped by the non-governmental organization have been as young as 10 months old.Lisa Clifford and Charles Ntiricya, Kuwait Times, In Congo, rape a weapon of war, 12-24-07

There is no more urgent call to conscience for the international community as a whole, and the great nations in particular, than the effort to thwart genocide in Darfur. And yet, even if the international community as a whole, and the great nations in particular, were as responsive as human decency dictates they should be (and, indeed, they have both failed miserably), there would still be this almost incomprehensible hell-realm being built up in the mountains to the South. What does one do in such circumstances? What does one choose? How much can one bear to even acknowledge? If someone can devote themselves to saving the women and children of Darfur -- when not so very far away the women and children of the Congo are being swallowed up in misery -- is that person really making any difference? Of course, the answer is yes. But the question itself is incredible.

Finally, there is this story about the fate of a woman's right to choice in the new Latin America:

Bolivia's 255-delegate Constituent Assembly under President Evo Morales--the country's first indigenous leader and widely considered one of the region's most leftist heads of state--last month narrowly avoided adding a ban on all abortion to its new constitution, regardless of the dangers to a woman's life.Surprise? Not in Latin America.While abortion rights may be a rough dividing line between left and right in the United States, progressive party rule here is no ticket to pro-choice advancement in this region.In the past two years, Nicaragua's government of former revolutionary Sandinistas has banned all abortions. The president of Uruguay--leader of his country's historic left-wing party--has vowed to veto parliamentary attempts to legalize abortion. And Venezuelans' push to decriminalize the procedure has come to a virtual halt under socialist President Hugo Chavez.Jean Friedman Rudovsky, Bolivia's 'Bad Births' Sit on Political Sidelines, Women's eNews, 1-15-07

If you have an honest understanding of the long, painful history of Latin America, and the unfortunate role of US covert operations and corporate interests in that long, painful history, you cannot help but look on recent political developments in Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, and elsewhere with empathy and enthusiasm. And yet, there will be some disturbing twists and turns to this inspiring narrative.

There is no more basic human right than the right of a woman to the freedom for her own body, e.g., the freedom to choose whether or not to have an intimate encounter with another consenting adult, the freedom from having other people force their bodies upon hers, the freedom to choose whether or not to bring forth another body from her womb, etc.

And yet, every day, in every region of the world, this basic human right is being violated.

This is the 21st Century.

If we do not succeed in protecting this and other basic human rights here and now, there will probably be no 22nd Century.

I encourage you to support the work of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). Click here for more information.

"Climate change is the biggest risk the world faces this century and next," [Lord Nicholas Stern] told reporters on the tele-conference. "How big it turns out to be depends on our decisions.""We face these risks largely because markets have failed," he said. "They've failed on the crucial dimension that people don't face the costs of the damages they inflict on others through climate change. Indeed, it's the greatest market failure the world has seen.""We can overcome this market failure, we can fix the markets," Stern said, "but it's going to be governments, and business and ordinary people working with markets that will overcome this problem."Big Banks Ranked on Climate Change Practices, Environmental News Service, 1-11-08

Climate Crisis Update: There is Still Time to Make a Profound Difference; Ceres Report Ranks World's Major Banks on Climate Change Governance Issues

Although it is very late, there is still time to adapt to the inevitable and mitigate the worst of it. There is still time to make a profound difference in what happens in the future. This report from Ceres underscores the encouraging sign that there is movement in high places, but it also underscores the painful fact that there is not nearly enough movement in such circles.

It is imperative that those of us with open eyes engage in dialogue with those who simply do not understand, or are afraid or unwilling to accept personal responsibility. The demands that global warming and the climate crisis make on us all must become a priority both at home and in the workplace. -- Richard Power

Goldman Sachs ranks highest and Bear Stearns ranks lowest of the investment banks rated in a first-ever analysis of the climate change governance practices of 40 of the world’s largest banks.

Of the diversified banks, the report issued Thursday by the Ceres investor coalition based in Boston ranks HSBC Holdings at the top and the Bank of China at the foot of the list. ...

The shortcomings were evident in the report’s final scores. Using a 1- to 100-point scoring system, the two highest scoring banks were European-based HSBC Holdings and ABN AMRO with 70 points and 66 points, respectively. More than half of the 40 banks scored under 50 points, with a median score of 42 points. ...

Among the highlights:

The banks have issued nearly 100 research reports on climate change and related investment and regulatory strategies, more than half of them in 2007 alone;34 of the 40 banks responded to the latest climate-disclosure annual survey conducted by the Carbon Disclosure Project, a nonprofit group that seeks information on climate risks and opportunities from companies on behalf of investors; 28 of the banks have calculated and disclosed their GHG emissions from operations and 24 have set some set some type of internal reduction target;29 of the banks reported their financial support of alternative energy, eight of which alone have provided more than $12 billion of direct financing and investments in renewable energy and other clean energy projects.

Yet for all of the positive momentum, many of the 40 banks have done little or nothing to elevate climate change as a governance priority – a trend that cuts across European, North American and Asian banks alike. For example:

Only a dozen of the 40 banks have board-level involvement and all but one of those firms are non-US-based;Only a half-dozen banks say they are formally calculating carbon risks in their loan portfolios, and only one of the 40 banks – Bank of America – has announced a specific target to reduce greenhouse emissions associated with the utility portion of its lending portfolio;No bank has set a policy to avoid investments in carbon-intensive projects such as conventional coal-fired power plants or Canadian tar sands.

The report concludes that more action is needed to align the banking sector with greenhouse gas reductions that scientists say are needed to avoid the dangerous impacts of climate change. In this regard, the report recommends that banks:

Elevate climate change as a governance priority for board members and CEOs, especially at U.S. banks where direct board involvement has been virtually non-existent;Provide better disclosure about the financial and material risks posed by climate change, their own emission reduction strategies, and emissions resulting their financing and investment;Explain how they are factoring carbon costs into their lending decisions, especially for energy-intensive projects that pose financial risks as carbon-reducing regulations take hold worldwide;Set progressively higher targets to shrink the carbon footprint of their lending and investment portfolios, and be more transparent about they plan to meet these objectives.HSBC, Other European Banks Receive Top Scores in First-Ever Ranking of 40 Leading Banks on Climate Change Strategies, 1-10-08

To view the full report, Corporate Governance and Climate Change: The Banking Sector, in .pdf format, click here.

Want to join hundreds of thousands of people on the Stop Global Warming Virtual March, and become part of the movement to demand our leaders freeze and reduce carbon dioxide emissions now? Click here.

Center for American Progress Action Fund's Mic Check Radio has released a witty and compelling compilation on the Top 100 Effects of Global Warming, organized into sections like "Global Warming Wrecks All the Fun" (e.g., "Goodbye to Pinot Noir," "Goodbye to Baseball," "Goodbye to Salmon Dinners," "Goodbye to Ski Vacations," etc.), "Global Warming Kills the Animals" (e.g., "Death March of the Penguins," "Dying Grey Whales," "Farwell to Frogs," etc.) and yes, "Global Warming Threatens Our National Security" (e.g., "Famine," "Drought," "Large-Scale Migrations," "The World's Checkbook," etc.) I urge you to utilize Top 100 Effects of Global Warming in your dialogues with friends, family and colleagues.

“Continued human progress now depends on an economic transformation that is more profound than any seen in the last century,” says Worldwatch president Christopher Flavin. “We should be practicing a sustainable approach to economics that takes advantage of the ability of markets to allocate scarce resources while explicitly recognizing that our economy is dependent on the broader ecosystem that contains it.”Worldwatch State of the World 2008: Innovations for a Sustainable Economy

Sustainability Update: Promising Entrepreneurial Trends are Not Enough, Collective Will & National Mandates are Urgently Required

By Richard Power

Worldwatch Institute's State of the World study is an important resource.

In 2006, an estimated $52 billion was invested in wind power, biofuels, and other renewable energy sources, up 33 percent from 2005. Preliminary estimates indicate that the figure soared as high as $66 billion in 2007.Carbon trading is growing even more explosively, reaching an estimated $30 billion in 2006, nearly triple the amount traded in 2005.Innovative companies are revolutionizing industrial production while also saving money: for example, chemical giant DuPont cut its greenhouse gas emissions 72 percent below 1991 levels by 2007, saving $3 billion in the process. ... Another sign of dramatic change is the 575 environmental and energy hedge funds now in existence, most of them formed in the last few years. “Clean tech” has rapidly grown to be the world’s third-largest recipient of venture capital, trailing only the Internet and biotechnology. And 54 banks, representing 85 percent of global private project finance capacity, have endorsed the Equator Principles, a new international standard of sustainability investment.World Watch Institute: Innovations for Sustainable Growth

Of course, as positive as these trends are, they are not nearly enough to overcome the dual threat of global warming and the sustainability meltdown.

Is much of what is being done simply "greenwashing," i.e., a touchy-feely P.R. image to distract from destructive behavior?

Journalist Stephen Leahy elucidates the issues:

"Innovative green efforts by governments and business are becoming commonplace," said Gary Gardner of Worldwatch, a U.S.-based environmental think tank. ...Green announcements now come daily. Last month, Virginia Tech University said that it had teamed up with a private investor, Hannon Armstrong, to put 100 million dollars a year into improving the energy efficiency of Washington area buildings. In May, Citigroup (also known as Citi), one of the world's largest banks, announced plans to invest 50 billion dollars to address climate change over the next decade. That squarely contradicts the fact that Citgroup is the leading financier of fossil fuel energy and the world's top financier of coal, which is the chief source of climate-altering emissions from the U.S. and in other countries. Is Citigroup's promise to address climate change what's known as "greenwash", or a sincere effort to do business sustainably? Stephen Leahy, Inter Press Service, 1-9-08

Nevertheless, the trends documented in State of the World 2008 also underscore how much more would get done and how much faster efforts would accelerate if the political leaders of the great nations -- particularly the USA, which has spent the years since 2000 in deep denial and on a binge -- began to accept their responsibility to mandate life-affirming changes in how we sustain our growth.

To overcome the global challenges of the 21st Century, we need to move beyond the laizze-faire and monetarist doctrines that have failed us in so many ways. We cannot allow them to shape the survival decisions that confront us now.

I have been researching, writing and speaking out about global warming and climate change for a decade. There has been very little good news to report.

But here is some encouraging news from an unexpected source -- the Republican voters of South Carolina:

According to a January 2007 poll conducted for the group Environmental Defense, 81 percent of South Carolina’s Republican voters believe the United States should reduce carbon dioxide emissions.South Carolina’s Republican Governor Mark Sanford has commissioned a committee to create a climate action plan for the state. During the last legislative session, 90 House and 24 Senate members — split evenly between Republicans and Democrats — signed an open letter calling for presidential leadership on climate change.Furthermore, in November, 108 of South Carolina’s mayors “signed a separate letter also calling on presidential candidates to speak out on climate change.Think Progress, 1-10-08

Furthermore, in the Telegraph/UK, Adam Markham postulates that the climate change issue, particularly among independent voters, may have led to the surprising comeback victory of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in the New Hampshire primary:

[McCain is] a pro-Iraq war Republican whose campaign was all but written off six months ago, but alone among the Republicans he has a passion for the climate issue and a plan to address it.This gave him huge appeal to the Independents that he needed to pull-off a win in this state.Independents can vote in either the Democratic or Republican primary in New Hampshire - one of the few states where they can, which is why the primary is so important, as it helps show which candidates can bring new support to a party. Polling last November showed that 84 per cent of independents think climate change is a serious issue.Telegraph/UK, 1-9-08

Yes, despite the denial exhibited in the US mainstream news media and the political establishment, the populace understands the threat and wants something meaningful done about it.

This data bodes well not only for the utter necessity of getting US commitment to a global accord in 2009, but also for the possibility of restoring true bi-partisan consensus on vital national security issues.

Of course, the data also underscores how disconnected much of the mainstream news media and political establishment really are -- both from reality and the body politic that they are supposed to serve.

Leadership at all levels of society, business and government is what is desperately needed, and another encouraging story -- this one from John Vidal in the Guardian/UK -- highlights the work of fifty such leaders:

To come up with a list of the 50 people most able to prevent the continuing destruction of the planet, we consulted key people in the global environment debate. Our panel included scientists - former World Bank chief scientist and now the British government's scientific adviser on climate change, Bob Watson, Indian physicist and ecologist Vandana Shiva, Kenyan biologist and Nobel prize-winner Wangari Maathai; activists - Guardian columnist George Monbiot and head of Greenpeace International Gerd Leipold; politicians - Green party co-leader and MEP Caroline Lucas, and London mayor Ken Livingstone; sustainable development commissioner for the UK government Jonathon Porritt and novelist Philip Pullman.Then the Guardian's science, environment and economics correspondents met to add their own nominations and establish a final 50. Great names were argued over, and unknown ones surfaced. Should Al Gore be on the list? He may have put climate change on the rich countries' agenda, but some felt his solution of trading emissions is not enough and no more than what all major businesses and western governments are now saying. But in the end he squeaked through.There was also debate over Leonardo DiCaprio. It would be easy to sniff at someone who seemed to have merely pledged to forgo private jets and made a couple of films about the environment, but we felt the Hollywood superstar who has grabbed the green agenda had to be included because of the worldwide influence he is expected to have. Thanks to his massive celebrity status DiCaprio could be a crucial figure in persuading and leading the next generation.Some people made it to the final 50 not just because of their work but because - like the man who has found a simple way to save energy in a refrigerator, or the boy who collects impressive amounts of money for the protection of tigers - they represented a significant grassroots technological or social movement. And some got on the list because they were considered the driving forces behind the decision-makers. One church leader, for example, made it largely because the world's religions have huge investments and are shifting the political landscape in the US and Europe.The final list includes an Indian peasant farmer, the world's leading geneticist, German and Chinese politicians, a novelist, a film director, a civil engineer, a seed collector and a scientist who has persuaded an African president to make a tenth of his country a national park. There are 19 nationalities represented. Nearly one in five of those listed comes from the US, and one in three is from a developing country, suggesting that grassroots resourcefulness will be as important as money and technology in the future. Nearly one in three of the people chosen has a scientific background, even if not all practice what they studied. It's not a definitive list and there are no rankings, but these 50 names give a sense of the vast well of people who represent the stirrings of a remarkable scientific and social revolution, and give us hope as we enter 2008.Click here to read the list, Guardian/UK, 1-7-08

Want to join hundreds of thousands of people on the Stop Global Warming Virtual March, and become part of the movement to demand our leaders freeze and reduce carbon dioxide emissions now? Click here.

Center for American Progress Action Fund's Mic Check Radio has released a witty and compelling compilation on the Top 100 Effects of Global Warming, organized into sections like "Global Warming Wrecks All the Fun" (e.g., "Goodbye to Pinot Noir," "Goodbye to Baseball," "Goodbye to Salmon Dinners," "Goodbye to Ski Vacations," etc.), "Global Warming Kills the Animals" (e.g., "Death March of the Penguins," "Dying Grey Whales," "Farwell to Frogs," etc.) and yes, "Global Warming Threatens Our National Security" (e.g., "Famine," "Drought," "Large-Scale Migrations," "The World's Checkbook," etc.) I urge you to utilize Top 100 Effects of Global Warming in your dialogues with friends, family and colleagues.

Those in the developed world who think what is happening in Kenya is something distant, and peculiar to the African continent, are living in a dream; and unless they tend to the health of their own democratic institutions (e.g., the integrity of elections and the independence of the news media), they will awaken one day, sooner than later, into a nightmare very similar to the one documented in this report from United Nations Country Team in Kenya -- Richard Power

The humanitarian situation remains critical in the flashpoint areas of Rift Valley, Western and Nyanza Provinces as well as in slum areas in major Kenyan cities. As more fact finding missions report back and more assessments become available, new pockets of people in need are emerging. ...

African Union Chairman John Kufuor met both the Opposition and Government. The leader of the Opposition continued to insist that he would not meet with the President unless Mr. Kufuor was present as a mediator.

Other regional figures still on the ground were the four former Presidents representing the African Forum, who returned from a fact finding visit to Eldoret. They met earlier with IDPs in the city's showground and on the main Cathedral's grounds. They then visited the site of the church burning where, the Red Cross says, 17 people were killed.

World Vision (WV) has over the weekend distributed milk, bread, lentils and relief supplies to displaced people from the Kibera slum in Nairobi and in Nakuru's Afraha stadium. On Monday, its aid trucks also drove to Rift Valley from Nairobi under military protection. WV is partnering with the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) to meet the immediate needs of almost 155,000 affected people in Nairobi, Nakuru, Eldoret, Mombasa and Kisumu. ...

UNICEF is extremely concerned about the psycho-social consequences for Kenya's children who have experienced violence, temporary displacement and fear. As schools are expected to open next week, UNICEF urges teachers everywhere to look out for any signs of discrimination among children. An Emergency Education meeting was held this morning with the GoK and other partners to consider the impact of the crisis on children. ...

This blog now focuses on exploring new language for the truths of the ancient future, and reflects insights into Vajrayana Buddha Dharma, Kashmir Shiva-Sakti philosophy, Hatha and Tantra Yoga, the Shamanic path, and other aspects of the world's collective mystical heritage. It also offers commentary on art, music, literature, human rights, sustainability, independent journalism, economic justice and the Climate Crisis.

For much of his life, Power has worked in the fields of security and intelligence. He has delivered briefings and led training in forty countries, and was an adviser to governments and corporations. His views have been featured in interviews on CNN, PBS, NPR and the BBC, and quoted in mainstream news media, including Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Times, Washington Post, Reuters and Associated Press.